


The People Who Had Your Back When the World Didn’t Understand

by Aceofstars16



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Brother Feels, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Other, Teenage Stan Twins, Young Stan Twins, portal ford
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 12:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16723623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aceofstars16/pseuds/Aceofstars16
Summary: When you are an outcast, bullies are always around and fights ensue. Thankfully Stan is always there for Ford, and Ford is there for Stan...right?(Goes throughout the Stan twin's life, from kids, to teens, to portal Ford, to sea grunkles)





	The People Who Had Your Back When the World Didn’t Understand

**Author's Note:**

> The physical abuse is not explicit or anything, just implied. There is also a small amount of blood but I don't go into detail with it 
> 
> [Tumblr post](http://aceofstars16.tumblr.com/post/180435587158/the-people-who-had-your-back-when-the-world-didnt)

Fights. Ford had been in his fair share of them, though in reality they were just beatings; he couldn’t do much on the fighting end. Stan on the other hand, was much better at fighting back, even though he never stood a chance, especially against Crampelter.

Carefully wiping away the blood from his brother’s nose, Ford tried not to pay attention to the stinging in his cheek. Stan had already patched him up – despite having the worse injuries – but Ford knew he would have bruises for days. But that was nothing compared to Stan, who was one punch away from a broken nose.

“There.” Ford said, as he placed a band aid on the last cut.

Leaning back to survey his work, guilt crept into his heart. Stan always got beat up protecting him, it wasn’t fair, Stan didn’t deserve that, especially not when…Closing his eyes, Ford tried to push away the thought that was creeping into his mind. He didn’t want to believe it, and he couldn’t bear to dwell on it.

“Ah come on Poindexter, don’t look so down. I got in a few good punches this time!” Stan grinned at Ford, a gap showing in his teeth from where a baby tooth had been punched out a few days ago.

A small smile played on Ford’s mouth, but then it fell. “You know…Stan…you don’t have to keep jumping in like that.”

“Whacha talking about? Those jerks were beating you up! I’m not just going to stand by and do nothing!” There was indignation in Stan’s tone, and he looked genuinely angry, though Ford knew he was angry at the bullies, not him. Stan was just as protective of Ford as Ford was of him.

A warm glow grew in Ford’s chest, but he still hated seeing his brother getting hurt when it was him they wanted, not Stan.

Unable to look at his brother’s injuries anymore, Ford looked his hands, the source of all of his problems…or a lot of them. “Yeah…I know but…maybe they’ll stop if you stop?”

There was silence for a moment and then Ford glanced up to see Stan staring at him as if he was insane. “I thought you were sup’osed to be the smart twin. If I don’t do anything they’ll hurt ya even more!”

Ford couldn’t hold back a sigh. “But then you wouldn’t get so beat up. You haven’t done anything wrong, you shouldn’t get beat up because of my…” Looking at his hand, Ford closed his eyes, wishing not for the first time that he was normal.

A punch in the shoulder shook Ford out of his thoughts.

“You haven’t done anything wrong either, knucklehead! Those jerks are just jealous of your brains and extra fingers, and I ain’t going to stand by and let ‘em beat you without fighting back. We’re brothers, and we stick by each other no matter what, right?”

A mixture of guilt and affection warred through Ford’s brain as Stan spoke, but when he glanced at his brother, he saw determination glimmering in his his eyes and he found a small smile growing on his face.

“Right.”

* * *

 Highschool. Ford had once been excited for it, and in some ways, it was still quite thrilling, at least when it can to the learning, but on the other hand the bullies seemed to be worse than before. At least there was an upside – Stan seemed to be getting better at fighting, though a true upside would be no need to fight in the first place. There were still many nights when Ford had to patch up his brother, but ever since that night many years ago, they never brought up the reason for the injuries. Ford couldn’t change his hand and Stan had made it clear he would never change his promise to protect Ford.

That is until he got suspended.

Ford had tried warning Stan that pranking the rival South Bend Highschool was a bad idea, but Stan had insisted it would be fine and of course it hadn’t. He had been caught and suspended for three days. Ford had a feeling the constant fights Stan got into didn’t help the length of the suspension either. And for the first time, Ford went to school without his twin.

Everything seemed fine at first. After all, the bullies couldn’t pick on him every day, and maybe they didn’t even know Stan wasn’t around. The first day went by without any incident, as did the second. Ford should’ve known his luck wouldn’t hold out.

“Seems like your idiot brother isn’t here to look after you this time, FREAK!”

Stan wasn’t the only one that had grown, Crampelter – who was now a senior – had grown even more, and Ford knew he didn’t stand a chance, but he tried. And failed. As much as wrestling helped in a fight, it didn’t do much when three people were fighting you at once, especially when they were all bigger and stronger. And of course they waited until after school so they wouldn’t get in trouble.

By the time they left him alone, Ford could barely feel anything, as if his body was numb to the pain…while throbbing uncontrollably at the same time. Tears continued to roll down his face as he stumbled home, trying to hide his face from anyone he stumbled past. He didn’t know what he would say to Ma or Pa, and he prayed he didn’t run into either before he got a chance to get cleaned up.

Sneaking in the back alley of the shop, Ford carefully opened the door before bolting up the stairs as fast as his bruised limbs could carry him, quickly rushing to the bathroom and slamming the door behind him before he could be stopped by anyone.

But he wasn’t the only person in the bathroom.

Ice froze in Ford’s veins as he saw the sight before him.

Stan was bruised just as much as he was. Blood was dripping from his nose, and his right eye was completely swollen shut. But despite his state, he was making no move to clean himself up. He was sitting on floor of the bathroom, his eyes wide as his eyes met Ford’s.

For a second, they just stared at each other, then a spark of anger flickered in Stan’s eyes and he jumped to his feet, staggering a little, but looking as if he was ready to fight anything.

“I’m going to kill them.”

“Stan…what…happened?”

“Who did this? Crampelter? Of course his was him, I’m going to…I swear.” Stan clenched his fists and took a step forward but his body seemed to remember how much pain it was in and he stumbled.

Ford quickly reached forward, trying to steady his twin, though his own legs wobbled at the effort, and after a moment he let himself slide to the ground, Stan following suit without a word between them.

“Stanley…what-?”

Stan looked at the ground, picking at the mat under them. “It’s nothing,” he muttered.

It wasn’t nothing, Ford knew it. And deep down he knew exactly what had happened. He had heard enough yelling and seen enough harsh glances to know his father didn’t hold Stan in a high regard. But he had never thought…well, maybe he had, but he hoped it would never come to this.

“He’s wrong you know.”

No movement from Stan.

“You aren’t worthless. You’re smart, in your own way. And you’re braver than anyone else I know. You stand up to anyone no matter the odds.” A fire started burning in Ford’s chest as he spoke, anger at his Pa, and anyone who thought Stan wasn’t worth anything. Sure, he wasn’t the brightest kid but heck he was the most loyal.

“And you are the best brother anyone could ever ask for. You…you are always there for me, Stanley. And I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you with-“ the word stuck in his throat, his chest tightening when he realized Stan still wasn’t looking at him.

Reaching forward, Ford gently grabbed Stan’s hand, intertwining their fingers – something they had done as kids to comfort each other but had recently fallen out of the habit of doing.

For a moment, there was nothing, then Stan glanced up at Ford, tears glistening in his eyes.

That was it. No one should make Stan cry, especially not Pa.

As gently as he could, Ford pulled on Stan’s hand. At first, he resisted, but then he let himself fall onto Ford’s shoulder as he wrapped his arms around his brother.

“You’re my best friend, Stanley. I wouldn’t trade you for all of the friends in the world. Pa just…doesn’t know what he is saying. You’re a good person. The best person I know.”

Quiet sobs shook Stan’s body and Ford held his brother close, not even caring that blood was staining his clothes – it wasn’t like a little more blood was going to do much to his torn shirt. And as tears mixed with the blood, Ford buried his head in Stan’s shoulder as well. This world was cruel, oh so cruel. But at least they didn’t have to face it alone.

* * *

 The multiverse. At first, Ford had been in awe, and some days he still was. There was so much to see, to learn. But there was also so much that could go wrong, and so many people that wanted to collect the bounty on him. Lucky for him, he had learned to be quite agile when it came to running away. Unfortunately, he didn’t always get away unscathed.

Ducking into an alleyway, Ford tried to steady his breathing, but his ribs still ached from the punches and his head throbbed from hitting the concrete when the thugs had first found him.

Daring a glance at the roadway, Ford couldn’t spot any of his pursuers and he let himself slide to the ground next to what smelled like a dumpster, but it smelled about ten times worse than any earthen dumpster.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes, trying not to dwell on the pain all over his body and the trickle of blood falling down his face.

“Another fine mess,” Ford muttered to himself as he opened his eyes and stared at the wall. Reaching up, he rubbed his nose and as he looked down, he saw the blood.

It shouldn’t have reminded him of anything, he had seen plenty of his blood lately, but as he stared at it, Ford was transported to his childhood again, shrinking against a wall while Stanley fought off bullies, yelling insults as he did so.

A small knot of longing lodged itself into Ford’s chest, and try as he might, he couldn’t reason it away. Yes, Stan had hurt him, a lot. Heck, he was the reason he was in this stupid dimension. All because he hadn’t listened. But once upon a time they had been close. They had been there for each other and they had always helped clean each other up. And if Ford was honest with himself, he wished Stan was there with him right now. But he wasn’t. He was alone.

* * *

 “Oh man, those jerks really put up a fight, didn’t they?” Stan’s words rang with laughter as he wiped away blood from his hands.

“They probably would’ve put up a worse one if they hadn’t been so intoxicated.”

“Why can’t you just say drunk like any other normal person?” A grin lit up Stan face despite the cuts dotting it.

A smile played at Ford’s mouth and he shrugged. “It’s more accurate, they were more than drunk. I wouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t able to move when they wake up.”

“Only ‘cause they messed with the wrong people, ey?” Stan elbowed Ford and he couldn’t hold back a small laugh.

“You really should’ve let it go. I’m used to the comments by now.” As he spoke, Ford wiggled his fingers, but Stan didn’t laugh.

“I seem to recall when we were younger that I told you I’d never stand by and let people tease you, and I’m still keeping that promise.”

 _‘Teasing and fighting are two different things,’_ Ford thought to himself, but he didn’t voice that comment, it wasn’t worthy of being said aloud. Because if he knew Stan, it wouldn’t do anything. However, the his brother’s words did bring a smile to Ford’s face - for two reasons. First, because it meant his brother’s memory really had returned for good, and even better than some people their age. And second, because, despite all of the mistakes of the past, Stan still had Ford’s back.

“Alright. Now, let’s get cleaned up, can’t be all bloody for the kid’s video chat tonight.”

Stan shrugged. “It’s not like they haven’t seen me like this before. You should’ve seen those zombies last summer.” But even as he spoke, Stan started wiping at a cut right under Ford’s eye.

And as they helped clean each other up, Ford couldn’t help but reflect on how lucky he was to be where he was. Back in his dimension, back in his own mind, and despite everything, back with his twin, his best friend who always had his back, even when he didn’t realize it. Yes, he was lucky indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write these two at different ages for a while now and after seeing [this picture](http://aceofstars16.tumblr.com/post/180430369658/embulalia-stanuary-protect-everyones-seen) I got inspired to write a little something...but then it kind of got longer than I planned?  
> I had a lot of fun writing it though, I just love these two so much, they hurt me but they are also so fun to write and I just have a lot of feelingsssss *flops*  
> If you read this, thank you so much, it means so much that people read and hopefully enjoy my fics <3333


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